15 Things I’ve Eaten Recently: Welcome Back Soup and Chili

Hello and get ready for some good food! This recent eats round up officially marks my transition into fall food and I am here for it! My first pot of soup and first pot of chili of the fall season happened in the last week and they were both delicious! Also, lots of good dinners since my mom has been here and I have another adult in the house to cook for. 🙂

BREAKFAST

Breakfast has by far been the least exiting meal of the day over here lately. I just don’t have an appetite for much more than something easy like a Perfect Bar or a bagel with cream cheese. This is unlike me because I typically wake up famished and look forward breakfast. I hope my normal enthusiasm returns soon!

Here’s the only breakfast that I took a photo of for this round up. Plain FAGE 5% with honey, defrosted cherries, bananas, dried cranberries, granola and peanut butter.

LUNCH

I AM SO HAPPY THAT SOUP SEASON IS BACK! Sorry for the caps but that’s how excited I am about it. It’s been a little cooler here for the last week (we even got into the 40s one night) so I jumped on the chance to make some soup and a pot of chili.

This is a lentil, sweet potato and kale soup with lots of fresh ginger and coconut milk. I like to have soup for lunch with avocado toast on the side. I shared the recipe for this soup on Instagram today. You can find it here. You might also like this lentil, cauiflower and kale soup that I shared last year.

Before ushering in soup season, I did have one last tomato sandwich. My got a few tomatoes on my last trip to the farmers market and they were definitely the last of the season. I am sad to see flavorful tomatoes go, and wish we could have them year-round. I know part of the appeal of seasonal foods is that you only get them a certain time of year but I am quite certain that I would never tire of good tomatoes.

Spinach and arugula blend tossed with avocado oil, sea salt and balsamic and topped with chopped stuffed grape leaves, cherry tomatoes, tuna, pepitas, avocado, feta and dried cranberries.

DINNER

My favorite homemade spaghetti sauce over thin spaghetti noodles with a side salad and canned biscuits. I appreciate spaghetti dinners because they make everyone happy and are something Finn will eagerly eat. He loves these Immaculate Baking Co. fluffy layered biscuits. Sometimes I like the texture of thin spaghetti noodles in place of regular. My dad used them a lot growing up! Funny how we take these little things with us.

Baked potato, sliced grass-fed ribeye and a side salad with olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt, radishes, tomatoes and shaved parmesan. I actually made this for myself for dinner the night before my mom arrived.

Pecan-crusted chicken breast, roasted potatoes and steamed broccoli topped with a quick homemade cheese sauce. The roasted potatoes were a huge win because I got Finn to eat them for the first time! He loves potatoes but usually resists them roasted. I showed him how to dip it like a french fry and I think he was hungry enough to give it a try. I got an, “mmm…this is yum, yum in my tum, tum” and he asked for more!

In less surprising news, he did not touch the broccoli on his plate. 😉 Regarding the broccoli, my mom prefers it steamed over roasted and after years of predominantly roasting my broccoli, I think I see more steamed broccoli in my future.

This looks like a random dinner but I promise it was really tasty. I used some of the things that I found at the Greek market to make a fun dinner of gyros, stuffed grape leaves and spinach and feta pastries.

Room-service dinner during a quick overnight trip with my mom. Grilled salmon over English pea and herb risotto with cucumber dill relish and roasted red pepper emulsion. We also shared a chocolate devil’s food cake.

This pasta creation that I whipped up exceeded my expectations. It was a clean out the fridge kind of dinner and turned out wonderfully. The star of the show was the homemade fresh campanelle pasta that I purchased from Mano Bella Artisan Foods at the farmers market. The flavor and texture were perfect and turned the dish into something special.

I sautéed pattypan squash with onions, garlic, chopped fresh tomatoes and sliced chicken Italian sausage. Once that was all cooked together I added a little white wine, butter and chicken stock and then finished it with fresh mozzarella, parmesan and a pinch of Trader Joe’s Soffritto seasoning blend.

I made my first pot of chili of the season last night! I realize that some people eat soup and chili all year long but I just cannot do it during the hot summer months in the south. These foods are VERY seasonal for me.

This is a simple turkey chili because sometimes basic is best. I’ll share this recipe in the next couple of weeks. It’s easy! I topped mine with crushed saltines, cheese, cilantro, plain greek yogurt and hot sauce. Southwestern chopped salad on the side from a bag to which I added tomatoes and avocado.

I went out with Dorie last Saturday night. We were overdue a one-on-one catch up. We sat outside at Dilworth Tasting Room in SouthPark and it was lovely. We started with these duck confit empanadas.

And then shared a seared tuna dish and this seasonal gnocchi. The gnocchi was perfectly cooked and the flavors of this were something I’d like to recreate at home.

ETC

Sure sign my mama is here when you find me eating pie. We love the pies from The Fresh Market!

That wraps up this edition of recent eats! I know I have been sporadic in my posting lately. I hope to get back to a more regular 3-4x/week posting schedule soon-ish. Hang with me, friends. <3

QUESTIONS

Are you a seasonal soup/chili/stew eater or do you cook them year-round? 

What is your favorite pasta shape? 

What summer food are you most sad to say goodbye to, and what fall food are you most excited to welcome?